The Great Equalizer

This report looks at the popularity of Toronto’s public libraries—the busiest in North America and second busiest in the world— and documents how the Toronto Public Library system has been reeling under years of real cuts to staffing, operating, capital and acquisitions budgets. The report finds that that the TPL system is in critical need of an immediate and long-term reinvestment in staff, books and materials acquisition, repairs and new buildings to continue to serve the growing needs of the population.

TORONTO—Toronto’s public libraries are the busiest in North America and second busiest in the world but have suffered from 20 years of chronic underfunding, says a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Ontario (CCPA-Ontario) report.